Tag: ideas

Fun indoor games!

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Play ‘Sardines’ – a twist on the traditional hide and seek

You’ll need at least four players for this game with one person hiding and the other players searching for the hider. When a player finds their friend hiding, they then need to hide with that player staying where they are until another player finds them and so on. The fun will continue until the last person finds everyone at which point everyone will be squashed like – sardines!

Board games

Ditch electronic games and play with traditional board games. Snakes and Ladders, Guess Who, Monopoly…which games keep your kids entertained?

Play ‘Bubbles’!

Playing this game is very simple and loads of fun! All you need is water, washing up liquid, a bowl and some straws! Put some water (about 2 cm) in the bowl with some washing up liquid and mix just a little bit until bubbles start forming. Use the straw to gently blow bubbles and very quickly you’ll start making huge bubbles! You could even add a bit of food colouring to make different fun coloured bubbles!

Build a den

Drape blankets and sheets over chairs to make a cosy den for the kids. They can read books, play games and even nap (if you’re lucky!) however the challenge may be coaxing them out of their secret fort at teatime!

Indoor bowling

This game provides hours of fun for children (and adults) and can even be as competitive as you like You can either buy an indoor bowling set or use empty water bottles set up in a line and a soft ball. Don’t forget – place some tape as a starting line so avoid any cheating!

Dressing up stories

Get the kids using their imaginations and write a story – it could simply be their favourite fairy tale changed! They then have to act out their stories complete with costumes and props. Of course, you’ll need to put your acting skills to the test and join in with them!

 

 

Free family days out in London

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London offers an incredible amount of free attractions and things to do. Most museums and art galleries are free, London’s street markets are a must even if you don’t plan to do any shopping, and many London neighbourhoods are perfect for a stroll with the family.

The Natural History Museum

If you’ve got a budding Attenborough on your hands then they will love this museum! As you walk into the huge gallery you’ll be greeted by a roaring T.Rex, and there really are so many brilliant exhibitions and displays showing our natural world! Don’t miss the Darwin Centre where you can discover the wonderful world of science in action!

Science Museum

This museum is a definite hit with kids (and adults) of all ages and it’s definitely clear to see why! You’ll get to explore space and see a piece of the moon, and get your adrenaline pumping in the flight simulator. Especially created for the younger visitors, a visit to The Garden is a must and will give them the opportunity to explore light and sound, as well as water and construction.

The Tate Britain and Tate Modern

The Tate Britain in Pimlico houses a prestigious collection of British art from the 16th century to the present day. Its modern sister, the Tate Modern, is completely different with collections of 20th and 21st century art. Both galleries are extremely family friendly, and to make your visit even more fun there are apps which you can download and children’s activities to do as you make your way around.

Horniman Museum & Gardens

This family friendly fun anthropological museum is set in a 16 acre landscaped garden which you can explore, and has extensive collections of natural history as well as a magical aquarium. Other highlights include the Animal Walk where you can see alpacas, sheep, goats, rabbits and much more up close.

Grant Museum of Zoology

The Grant Museum of Zoology is a fascinating place to visit if you enjoy natural history. There are large collections of around 68,000 skeletons, mounted animals and specimens preserved in fluid which include extinct species such as the Tasmanian Tiger, the Quagga, and the Dodo.

London’s Parks

London’s green parks are the heart of the city on sunny days, locals come to their beloved parks to have a coffee in the morning or a sandwich at lunch time, to read a book, to meet friends, to fly a kite, play with the kids, picnic or just to hang out on a nice afternoon. Hyde Park, St James Park, Green Park and Regent Park are the most central of London’s parks, but there are many more on our website including Crystal Palace Park which is home to 33 Victorian dinosaurs!

 

The wonderful world of books

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Regardless of your child’s reading ability or age, these wonderfully wordy days out are a great way to get kids excited about books and the wonderful imaginative world of fun stories!

Library of Birmingham; Birmingham

This huge, modern building is home to over 400,000 books available to be read by the public, as well as a studio theatre, rooftop gardens, an outdoor Amphitheatre and a panoramic viewing gallery. Children will love exploring the children’s zones, listening to story telling sessions and getting involved in kids activities!

The Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre; Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire

Located in the very place that Roald Dahl lived and wrote is the wonderful Roald Dahl museum! Aimed at children aged between 6 and 12, it features galleries, a story centre and loads of interactive displays all around this much loved children’s author. Perfect for family days out.

Liverpool Central Library; Liverpool

Inside this very large, historic building is a modern discovery that the whole family will love! Inside the children’s room you will find brightly coloured interiors brimming with books and nooks to read in. There is even an Xbox 360, computers, iPad and more technology available to the public!

The Story Museum; Oxford, Oxfordshire

Kids will love getting lost in the wonderful world of stories in this unusual but amazing museum that is specifically centred around stories! Perfect for kids of all ages and reading abilities, and of course all the family to enjoy too!

The British Library; London

The British Library is a great place to lose a few hours. Find endless knowledge and stories in so many different formats including print, digital, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines and so much more!

Discover Children’s Story Centre; London

Explore the indoor story trail and discover a magical adventure, or let off some steam in the story garden where kids will love discovering giant musical instruments, a spacecraft and a monster’s tongue! There’s so much fun to be had at Discover Children’s Story Centre with a sprinkling of imagination.

 

Birthday parties for preteen lads

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Preteens have outgrown cartoon character parties, but they still want to have a good time with their friends doing something age appropriate. Options for boys are varied, depending on your son’s interests and your budget, so plan the party with him and let him make decisions as well. It will be fun for both of you and make him feel older and more included.

Camping

Put up a couple of tents in the garden and have a camping party for your son and some of his friends. Give the boys some torches, snacks, sleeping bags and pillows for an outdoor party they will love. They can tell scary stories, and tell secrets while hanging around with nature. Give them some old-fashioned fun games such as board games to play, and if you’re feeling brave light a campfire for the boys to sit and roast marshmallows around. Birthday cake can be served on a picnic table or inside the house before the boys head to the campsite

Sports Party

There are several options for a sports-themed party. Take kids to a gym or local sports centre and let them hold a basketball game. Buy cheap seats for a local sports event and let kids eat hotdogs and watch a live game. Check and see what’s available in your area for a sports-minded kid, and plan a party around that. Preteen boys with lots of energy may even enjoy indoor rock climbing or rollerblading.

Video Game Party

Get boys involved in playing some games for lots of birthday fun. Connect game systems in your living room if you have them, and let boys have an all day gaming tournament. If that isn’t possible, head to an arcade with the boys and load everyone up on pound coins. Order pizza or snacks and have birthday cake there at the arcade. If the party is at home, have every guest bring a favourite video game to share with the other partygoers.

Bowling

A bowling party is appropriate for everyone. Plan a birthday party at your local bowling alley. Many bowling alleys can rent you a table for a few hours so you can have your cake and open presents before you play the lanes. Some bowling alleys even offer arcade games so boys can play in between hitting the pins. Parents may even want to get in on the act. It’s a good activity to keep everyone moving and engaged. Offer a silly prize for the winning team.

Party games for the whole family

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When planning a children’s party or get together, be sure to include several games to keep partygoers entertained throughout the party. Play fun games that include all the family and of course the kids which keeps everyone involved in the party. Award prizes to the winners of each game to keep everyone ready for the next game.

Egg Relay Race

Divide players into parent/kid teams of two, and have several eggs and spoons ready. Play this game outside, as it can get messy. Make a start line and another line about 25 feet apart. Have all parents stand at the starting line and all kids stand at the other line. Give each parent a spoon and an egg.

The parents race to their children with the eggs on the spoons. Participants can’t use their hands to hold the eggs on spoons. If an egg is dropped, the parent must go back to the starting line and begin again. Once a parent’s reaches his child, the child will take the egg and spoon, and race back to the starting line. The first child that makes it back across the starting line wins the game.

Water Balloons

Make several water balloons before the party starts and sit them in a bucket. Have all players get into parent/kid teams of two. Give each team one water balloon and have them stand about 5 feet apart, facing each other. Each player attempts to throw the water balloon to her partner. If the partner drops the balloon, that team is out of the game. For all teams that catch the balloon, they must take a giant step back and toss the balloon again. The team who can catch the water balloon from the furthest point away from one another wins the game.

The Mummy Game

Each child should pair up with one of his parents before the game starts. Give each team two rolls of toilet paper. Each parent uses the rolls of toilet paper to cover the child. Set a time limit of five minutes and when time is up, the child who is the most covered with toilet paper wins the game.

Marshmallow Tower

Divide all players into parent/child pairs and have them sit around a table. Give each team about 20 toothpicks and a bowl of mini marshmallows. The teams have 10 minutes to create the tallest marshmallow tower using the marshmallows and toothpicks. After 10 minutes, the team with the largest tower wins. You can also award prizes for the most creative and most disastrous towers.

Party in the Park

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So you’ve decided not to have a group of kids tear up your house this year by having your kids birthday party at a local park. Good move, but you’ve still got to come through with fun activities and entertainment for you child and his energetic friends. A mix of timeless children’s games, outdoor activities, simple craft projects, and making safety a top priority are the keys to a successful park party.

Classic Kiddie Games

Have the kids play those age-old outdoor games you remember playing as a kid. Play circle games, such as “Duck, Duck, Goose,” or “Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?”. Being at a park means there is plenty of room to run around without fear of the kids running into anything. For 2- or 3-year-olds, lead them in simple games like “Ring Around the Roses,” or “London Bridge.” With a battery-operated CD player, you can have all the kids play musical statues. Other classic games for preschoolers include, “Red Light, Green Light,” where the kids run on green and must freeze on red; and “Red Rover,” where they have to run from one side of a designated area to another without getting captured. Keep it non-competitive to avoid tears and tantrums by keeping everyone in the group even when they get caught.

Encourage Outdoor Children’s Activities

Bring an old sheet from home to play parachute with the kids. You will need a few other parents to help you hold the corners. Have the children fill in between the adults, holding onto a piece of the sheet. Lift up the sheet and let the kids run inside to sit under it as the “parachute” comes back down to earth. When they get bored with the parachute, break out the bubbles. Bring non-toxic bubble solution, large baking pans to pour it in, and kid-friendly over-sized bubble wands with soft handles. You can also have the kids toss oversized, lightweight bouncy balls to one another. If there is a sandbox at the park, hide a few soft, rubber toys in the sand. Give toddlers little plastic shovels to find the buried “treasure.”

Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts are an ideal way to keep the kids out of your hair while you are setting up the food or birthday cake. Spread a huge sheet of craft paper on a picnic table. The kids can gather around and draw pictures anywhere on the sheet using non-toxic crayons. You could also write out the birthday child’s name in bubble letters and have the kids colour them in.

Avoid soft play

Bouncy castles are popular for outdoor children’s birthday parties, but when used improperly, can lead to serious child injuries, according to a study on inflatable bouncing injuries encourages parents to keep their children under 6 years old away from bouncy castles. Save yourself and the other parents some anxiety by skipping out on one for a toddler or preschool birthday party. Plenty of other activities will keep the kids entertained. Small, inflatable slides that have just two or three steps and a short slide can present an alternative.

Party ideas for 2yr olds

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At the age of 2, little girls are walking, talking and steadily developing their own personalities. When planning a party for 2-year-olds, keep their interests and cognitive abilities in mind. For example, while it would be appropriate to plan a girls birthday party around her favourite Cbeebies character.
Many little girls are into princesses, so consider throwing a fun princess party for the 2-year-old girl in your life. Ask the guests to dress in princess costumes or have costumes on hand for them to change into when they arrive. You could also give each girl a tiara as she arrives at the party. Play games with a princess theme, such as Pin the Tiara on the Princess, serve a cake shaped like a princess’s tiara and screen a movie that has a princess as a main character. The little girls will enjoy feeling like they are princesses for a day.
Bouncy Castle Party
Although some people might think that little girls are delicate, they still like to play. Consider throwing a bouncy castle party for the 2-year-old in your life. Hire bouncy castles from a local party supplier. The little girls will be able to jump on the castle all afternoon and have fun being active.
Water and Sand
When you are throwing a birthday party for a 2-year-old girl in the summertime, consider planning it outdoors to take advantage of the warm weather. Purchase several children’s pools and set them up in your garden. Fill several pools with water and some with sand. Ask the party guests to dress in their bathing suits and let them play in the sand and water. Place some water toys in the pools, such as floating ducks, and some buckets and spades in the sand pools. The children can move back and forth between the water and sand to feel like they are spending a day at the beach.
Arts and Crafts
Many little girls enjoy creating things, so consider throwing an arts and crafts party for the 2-year-old girl. Plan a few arts and crafts activities that all the little girls will be able to handle. For example, pass out small terracotta pots and let the girls paint them with designs of their choice. Once the pots are dry, help them plant flowers in their pots. You could also give each little girl a T-shirt and help her decorate the shirt with paints, beads, sequins and other embellishments. Fun for all the family to enjoy.

 

Fun party for a 10-year-old boy

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Boys around the age of 10 are sometimes difficult to entertain because they are no longer “little kids” and they aren’t yet teenagers either. If you want to throw a fun birthday party for a 10-year-old boy, plan some children’s activities that are suitable to this age group. By engaging the kids who come to the party, you will make the experience fun for everyone, including the birthday boy.

Mummy Race

This game works especially well for children’s birthday parties that fall close to Halloween. Divide your partygoers into groups of two to four people. Give each group a few rolls of toilet paper. Instruct the teams to choose one person to be the “mummy.” When you give the signal to begin, the teams race to see which can wrap its mummy from head to toe within a certain time limit. Give the groups three to five minutes to wrap their mummies. When the time is up, let the birthday boy choose which team’s mummy is most thoroughly wrapped.

Gummy Worm Bobbing

This game offers a chilly twist on the traditional bobbing-for-apples activity. Fill a metal tub or similar container with water and ice. Sprinkle in a pack of gummy worms. Have the boys take turns sticking their heads into the icy water to grab a gummy worm with their mouths. Make sure the water isn’t too deep, since the gummy worms will sink to the bottom of the container. You can turn this into a competition by giving each player 30 seconds to see how many worms he can retrieve. The player who gets the most worms wins.

Backwards Relay

This activity gives your partygoers a chance to race each other in a non-typical relay game. Set up two obstacle courses before the game. Draw a starting line on the ground with spray paint. Place cones in a line extending from the starting point, being sure to leave about three feet of space between the cones. Use at least 10 cones for each line.

Divide the kids into two teams. Explain to the teams that each runner must race through the cones, alternating in and out of the cones in a zigzag fashion, until he reaches the last cone. When he circles the last cone, he must go back through the cones in the same manner until he comes back to the starting line. Upon crossing the starting line at the end of the course, he tags the next person in line to go. The catch is that everyone must complete the course by running or walking backward. If a cone is knocked over, the person must start over. The first team who moves all of its players through the course successfully, wins.

 

How to be safe at Halloween

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Halloween is a lot of fun but beware of some dangers which will help to keep our kids safe…

Treats

Warn kids not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering

Flame Resistant Costumes

When purchasing a kids halloween costume, masks, beards, and wigs, look for the label Flame Resistant. Although this label does not mean these items won’t catch fire, it does indicate the items will resist burning and should extinguish quickly once removed from the ignition source. To minimize the risk of contact with candles or other sources of ignition, avoid costumes made with flimsy materials and outfits with big, baggy sleeves or billowing skirts

Costume Designs

Purchase or make costumes that are light and bright enough to be clearly visible to motorists.

For greater visibility during dusk and darkness, decorate or trim costumes with reflective tape that will glow in the beam of a car’s headlights. Bags or sacks should also be light colored or decorated with reflective tape. Reflective tape is usually available in hardware, bicycle, and sporting goods stores.

 

  • To easily see and be seen, kids should also carry flashlights.

 

  • Costumes should be short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling.

 

  • Children should wear well-fitting, sturdy shoes . Mother’ s high heels are not a good idea for safe walking.

 

  • Hats and scarfs should be tied securely to prevent them from slipping over children’s eyes.

 

Apply a natural mask of cosmetics rather than have a kid wear a loose-fitting mask that might restrict breathing or obscure vision. If a mask is used, however, make sure it fits securely and has eyeholes large enough to allow full vision.

Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be of soft and flexible material.

Pedestrian Safety

Young children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older, responsible child. All children should WALK, not run from house to house and use the pavement if available, rather than walk in the street. Children should be cautioned against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where ornaments, furniture, or clotheslines present dangers.

Choosing Safe Houses

Children should go only to homes where the residents are known and have outside lights on as a sign of welcome.

Children should not enter homes or apartments unless they are accompanied by an adult.

People expecting trick-or-treaters should remove anything that could be an obstacle from lawns, steps and porches. Candlelit jack-o’-lanterns should be kept away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against the flame. Indoor jack-o’-lanterns should be kept away from curtains, decorations, and other furnishings that could be ignited.

That being said, keep safe and have fun!!!

 

Make Shopping a fun experience

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As we’re shopping let your kids help you pick out fruit and veggies in the produce department, enjoying counting the number of apples they add to the bag, the different colours of peppers to choose from, and the funny names of the melons.

Set Expectations

Before going into the store tell your kids exactly what you expect from them.

Expect that they:

  • will stay nearby and not run through the store

  • will try to be aware of other people and not get in their way

  • will not throw a fit if they don’t get something

  • will be helpful and participate in the process.

  • Before we step foot in the store, remind them of my expectations.

Make a List

Go armed in the supermarket with clipboards, paper, and pencils, ready to check off each and everything on your lists.

  • Giving them a fun helpful task keeps them engaged in the shopping experience.

  • Make Kids your Helper

  • Continually engaging the children in the shopping process.

Not only does this keep them from getting bored and restless, it also teaches them how to shop.

If you use these new tools, most of the time you will actually enjoy your shopping trips together as a family.  It’s not always perfect and there will be times when you have a rough day, but that’s life?

But just try and make it fun and entertaining for kids!!!!